The product energy efficiency trends work undertaken by IEA 4E is an inter-country collaborative task designed to help policymakers understand differences in product performance and energy consumption between countries, and the resulting opportunities that may exist to improve the performance of products locally.
The work was originally done under a separate Platform of IEA 4E but since May 2014, the work is overseen directly by the 4E Executive Committee.
4E has recently published the first Product Energy Efficiency Trends (PEET) report to assist governments with their policy development processes designed to encourage innovation and improve access to energy efficient products. This ambitious project monitors the
The benchmarking report for the international comparison of water heater performance is now available for review. The products and regulatory policies compared are those recently available in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the USA.
The international comparison of the energy performance of distribution transformers and associated MEPS levels is now available. This report shows key differences in the spread of product performance in Australia, Canada, India, the Republic of Korea, and the USA. It also examines and compares variations in the scope and stringency of national minimum performance levels and other policies.
Update of energy efficiency regulations and trends in 4E economies
Update of energy efficiency regulations and trends in 4E economies
Update of energy efficiency policy measures and trends in 4E economies
Fifteen countries from the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America have joined together under the forum of 4E to share information and transfer experience in order to support good policy development in the field of energy efficient appliances and equipment.
Since 2008, the Energy Efficient End-Use Equipment TCP (4E) has tracked the efficiency trends of major globally traded products and corresponding energy efficiency regulations.
This enables 4E Members to identify whether their current policies are being effective, how these policies and the performance of products compares across different regions and opportunities for closer alignment.
This process forms a multi-lateral exchange between regulators within 4E Member countries that accelerates the development of product policies and increases the level of energy savings, while also reducing regulatory and cost burdens on industry and consumers.
Joint analysis by the IEA and 4E into the global impacts of energy efficiency regulations¹ has shown that:
The longest running energy efficiency (EES&L) programmes are estimated to deliver annual reductions of around 15% of total current electricity consumption.
In the nine countries/regions for which data were available, these programmes reduced annual electricity consumption by a total of around 1,580 terawatt-hours in 2018 – similar to the total electricity generation of wind and solar energy in those countries.
On average, the energy efficiency of new major appliances in countries with EES&L programmes has increased two to three times the underlying rate of technology improvement.
The average purchase price of appliances covered by EES&L programmes declined at a rate of 2-3% per year.
Within 4E economies, energy efficiency regulations, taken to include minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), mandatory and voluntary energy labelling in this report, are a key driver for product efficiency.
Core elements of these regulations include:
Since 2020, the 4E Product Energy Efficiency Trends (PEET) project has been monitoring the status of these elements across regulations for major appliance and equipment types across 4E Member countries.
1 IEA 4E TCP (2021), Achievements of Energy Efficiency Appliance and Equipment Standards and Labelling Programmes, IEA, Paris (2021). https://www.iea.org/reports/achievements-of-energy-efficiency-appliance-and-equipment-standards-and-labelling-programmes
